Manufacturers of photographic processing equipment are continually striving to attain rapid and accurate processing of photographic materials. This equipment should be easily manufactured, reliable and economical This involves simplifying the design and/or reducing the physical size of various elements in the processor. This further entails reducing the number of unnecessary elements of the processor. These factors put together can substantially reduce the cost of manufacturing the processor. Reducing the energy requirements for motors and pumps used in the processor can further reduce the cost of operating the processor.
Furthermore, the photofinishers endeavor to produce highly accurate images with higher contrasts. High quality images are difficult to achieve when photosensitive materials are processed using the conventional rack and tank processors. The racks include a plurality of driven rollers which produce "noise" on the photosensitive material. The "noise", which can appear as scratches or dirt on the material generally occur as a result of the material coming in contact with elements of the transport system of the processor such as the rollers. Unwanted sensitized areas of an emulsion of the material are also sometimes referred to as "noise" on the material. These unwanted sensitized areas can be a result of the emulsion being exposed to high contact pressures during the time the photosensitive material is traveling through the processing fluid. Also, excess processing fluid which can collect on parts of the transport system of the processor can drip onto the material as it travels through the processor possibly causing differentially sensitized areas in the emulsion.
One type of photographic processor which attempts to minimize manufacturing cost and the above disadvantages includes at least one nozzle for supplying fluid to a photosensitive material for photographically processing the material. The nozzle may have a complex configuration to provide a turbulent fluid flow for processing the material. A complex nozzle design such as that disclosed in co-pending and commonly assigned patent application U.S. Ser. No. 426,349 by Douglas O. Hall et al. may require the processor to include a high power consumption pump. The slot-nozzle disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 426,349 is configured to convert a cylindrical fluid flow to a long thin fluid flow, hence possibly requiring a fluid supply pump having higher energy requirements at a greater cost to the manufacturer.